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Three cheers for DRS and KERS.
These systems are producing such good
racing I am beginning to prefer F1 to Moto GP.
As for the complaint that these systems
artificially manipulates the result – exactly,
and that's what is necessary with systems as
artificial as wings.
Wings have not much to benefit motor
vehicles in general and if they create boring
racing, then go ahead and manipulate their
negative effects.
You never know, eventually the penny
may drop and wings may be relegated to
aeroplanes and drivers may get back to their
skills becoming dominant rather than the
engineer's.
Thanks for the excellent GP WEEK, great info
source and photos.
Mike Sinclair, Christchurch, NZ
mikesinclair1@yahoo.co.nz
Green schmeeen
All the talk of F1 going 'green' and the likely
move to four-cylinder engines in 2013,
raises the question of how much difference
changes to the cars will actually make to the
environment.
Doesn't the CO2 emission of the actual
F1 cars on a race weekend become almost
insignificant when compared with the energy
used to transport the cars, motorhomes and
pit set-ups around the globe?
It seems like F1 are making a token gesture
at the possible expense of real racing fans.
Jonathan Gibb, Adelaide, Australia
jonathandavidgibb@yahoo.com
Not happy about Marco's drive-through
RIP overtaking in MotoGP. To repeat Vali's
statement, "what a bunch of PUSSIES".
Even ex-GP rider Daryl Beattie had the guts
to say he was embarrased by the penalty
given out to Simoncelli.
Maybe in future we just have qualifying
then call it a result.As Mick Harris said, "its
racing, not a Knitting contest."
DISGUSTING!!!
Mitchell Dicksen
gordondicksen@gmail.com
In a word, 'rubbish'. The day the racing died
in MotoGP. Don't let them wear you down
Marco!
Roger Hampstead
Chipping Norton, UK
Whispers emanated from the
Turkish Grand Prix that a
fight had broken out at a
post-race party. The allegation is
that Adrian Sutil had assaulted Eric
Lux, right hand man to Gerard Lopez
at Genii Capital, owners of Lotus-
Renault GP.
My immediate reaction was to think
of Alan Jones who, when he was at
Williams, did what I suspect every
driver has wanted to do at one time
or another and punched a sponsor
square in the face.
The allegation in this case sounds
even more serious, however, with
Lux needing multiple stitches after
the nightclub incident. I called Lotus-
Renault and Force India to see if it was
true. Force India’s spokesman said it
was “a private matter”, while Lotus-
Renault’s press officer went further,
confirming there had been an incident
involving one of the Genii people and
that it happened after the Chinese
Grand Prix.
A colleague told me Lux bore scars
on his neck. Then I remembered what
I’d seen.
The party in Shanghai was at M1NT,
a fashionable high-rise club where
several of the drivers were celebrating,
including Nico Rosberg, Fernando
Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Sutil. A
lookalike Lady Gaga performed as
the drivers watched from a private VIP
cabana-type-thing. It was dark inside –
you couldn’t see much.
Then the crowd parted and,
escorted by security, a man emerged
with his neck and shirt covered in
blood. He was holding the left-side
of his neck, looking – as you might
imagine – scared shitless. I didn’t
recognize the man at first.
Thirty seconds later Lewis Hamilton
was hurriedly swept through the
crowd by security, also. But, contrary
to reports, he didn’t leave the club. I
saw him in another area an hour later,
all smiles.
My first thought was that there had
been an accident – perhaps this poor
fellow had fallen on a table covered
in glasses. It happens. I remember
it happened to Christian Klein
once, in Malaysia. He tripped and
crashed onto a table of champagne
opinion
ADAM
HAY-
NICHOLLS
GPWeek Editor
Sutil scandal : I suppose I’m Witness X
Back in the days of the 500
two-strokes, riders like Eddie
Lawson used to talk about
‘ Honda-lanes’ at the faster tracks.
Places where only the Hondas could
run the speed.
That was a long time ago – 1989, to
be precise. But in 2011, after a long
absence, it seems that Honda-lanes
are back.
The difference now is that they
apply at all sorts of tracks, and even
(which never happened in Lawson’s
time) around the corners.
Le Mans certainly had them. Writing
this after practice but before the race
(when, as we all know, anything might
happen), the superiority of the final
iteration of the hitherto ill-favoured
RC212V 800cc V4 Hondas is palpable.
The time sheets certainly show
it. There are six Hondas on the grid.
They took the first four places. Easily.
(The absentees were relative rookie
Aoyama and the badly off-form Toni
Elias.)
Then came four Yamahas. And
MICHAEL
SCOtt
MotoGP Editor
opinion
The Honda-lanes are open
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